Alaska Term Limits Initiative (2024)
| Alaska Term Limits Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Term limits | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Alaska Term Limits Initiative was not on the ballot in Alaska as an initiated state statute on November 5, 2024.
This initiative would establish term limits for members of the Alaska State Legislature. Members of the legislature would not be able to serve more than 12 consecutive years in the legislature until six years have passed from when they last held office as a member of the legislature. No member of the legislature would be able to serve more than 20 years total.[1]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the ballot measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
Process in Alaska
In Alaska, the number of signatures required for an indirect initiated state statute is equal to 10 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Alaska also has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures equal to 7 percent of the vote in the last general election must be collected in each of three-fourths of the 40 state House districts. Petitions are allowed to circulate for 365 days from the date the lieutenant governor issues petition booklets to be distributed for signature gathering. Signatures must be submitted 365 days after the lieutenant governor issued petition booklets to be distributed for signature gathering or before the legislative session begins, whichever comes first.
The requirements to get an indirectly initiated state statute certified for the 2024 ballot:
- Signatures: 26,705 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was on January 15, 2024.
In Alaska, when enough signatures are verified for an initiative, the initiative is not certified for the ballot until after "a legislative session has convened and adjourned." This gives the Legislature a timeframe to consider the proposal or similar legislation. The initiative is void when “an act of the legislature that is substantially the same as the proposed law was enacted after the petition had been filed, and before the date of the election," according to state law.[2] Otherwise, the initiative is certified to appear on the ballot for the first statewide election 120 days after the legislature's adjournment.
Stages of this ballot initiative
- The initiative, titled "An Act establishing term limits for Members of the Alaska State Legislature", was filed on June 23, 2023.[3]
- On August 22, 2023, the initiative was rejected by Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R). She said, "The precedent set by the Alaska Supreme Court establishes that legislative term limits violate the Alaska Constitution."[4]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Alaska Elections, "Initiative," accessed July 5, 2023
- ↑ Alaska Department of Elections, "Public Information Packet on Initiatives," accessed January 24, 2024
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "Initiative Petition List," accessed July 5, 2023
- ↑ Juneau Empire, "Alaska lieutenant governor disqualifies legislative term-limits ballot measure," August 24, 2023
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State of Alaska Juneau (capital) |
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